Round Table: Wii U Nintendo Direct Reactions

What a fantastic episode of Nintendo Direct. There was plenty to sink our teeth into yesterday, and lots of new announcements to get excited about. E3 seems that much brighter now we know there’ll be playable demos of both Nintendo’s new 3D Mario game and Mario Kart entry, and we’ve got plenty to say about each and every new tidbit of information. But just in case you missed all the action, make sure you check out our own summary of yesterday’s news, or indeed watch the full presentation below!

Pierre Bienaimé

I’m not yet a Wii U owner, and I’ve always known that I’d be getting one at some point in 2013. Iwata’s revelation upon revelation yesterday morning didn’t put me in any hurry to get one; but he did assure me that once I take the console home, I’ll have a sea of features and a… pool(?) of awesome games to dive into.

It’s great to see Virtual Console come back in full force, offering dirt cheap downloads ($1.00 and $1.50) on those old titles we already have for Wii. Nintendo will also be adding Game Boy Advance games to its catalog. I’d love to see Advance Wars brought back in an experience tailored to the GamePad, though that’s more of a remake effort than simple Virtual Console support.

On another note, by making Miiverse accessible online (and eventually through a smartphone app), Nintendo will make jumping into game-specific forums more relevant by a longshot. I’d tip it to succeed in becoming the first stop for walkthroughs and tips.

As for E3, I guess we already know that it will be stronger than last year’s. Playable new 3D Mario and Mario Kart titles will pull crowds, especially if we’re given no gameplay footage to check out until then. I don’t know what to hope for regarding Mario’s next big opus. I somehow doubt that it will be Super Mario Galaxy 3, but rather a spiritual sequel to Super Mario 64. By this I mean unadulterated Mario platforming, without any gimmicks. I’d be happy either way (or even with Super Mario Sunshine 2: GamePad + F.L.U.D.D.!).

The Wonderful 101 is looking as frantic and responsive as ever, like it’ll grab your eyeballs and never let go.

Finally, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, announced for this fall, looks marvelous. The new aesthetic aims to be much more than a spit and polish on the old game (and some might have preferred just that). I can stomach a bit of reinvention on a classic; can’t wait to play one of my favorite games of all time all over again.

Lukas Velunta

Nice extended water metaphor, Pierre, especially after that Wind Waker reveal! Proving once again that they do their own (amazing) thing, Nintendo have blown away their own– and everyone else’s– E3 presentation from last year. After a strong 2013 start with the sixth-gen Pokémon reveal, it’s like the company have taken a look back and finally understood the comprehensiveness of their whole demographic. Things like Wii Fit U and Wii Party U were, of course, detailed, but these were balanced by news of a new mainline Mario title, Mario Kart, and what appears to be a spiritual successor to Yoshi Story in the style of Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Not to mention a sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles, and HOLY HELL, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem. Nintendo chose to ride the crossover bandwagon in style.

And the formats of the Nintendo Direct have come into their own as well– these aren’t your father’s E3 presentations. It’s always very humbling to have Iwata himself, speaking in full English, apologizing for game delays and a lack of further details in highly anticipated titles. “We’re sorry that the brand new Zelda, which will possibly have co-op and Megaman-like nonlinearity, will take some time to bring up to the Nintendo standard of excellence. Here, have an enhanced HD port of of one of the most beautiful games ever made.”

It’s like Nintendo took all the gaming enthusiasts in the world in a great big hug and said, “We get it.”

Po-Yi Ho

I have watched the amazing trailer for The Wonderful 101 a total of fifty times since this morning. I am in absolute shock. From this vibrant trailer, The Wonderful 101 looks like a mix of Pikmin, Little King’s Story, and Viewtiful Joe. Honestly, the main protagonist in The Wonderful 101 must be a brother of Joe. I might be dreaming here, but imagine controlling 101 unique characters, each with unique abilities, to battle larger-than-life enemies, each with different weaknesses to exploit! I have high hopes for this one.

I don’t mean to overlook all the other announcements, but this trailer has me mesmerized. Nintendo’s 2013 line up just keeps getting better and I am sure I can list 101 titles I want for 2013.

4 Responses to “Round Table: Wii U Nintendo Direct Reactions”

I love that Nintendo does things its own way. E3 is when you would expect stuff like this, but Nintendo has already nailed down what its 2013 is all about, so boom, here it is, in their own words, on their own terms, with their own unique blend of perfectionism and humility.

E3 might be a bit of a fossil soon. Let the stuffy business types go to some physical assembly and speculate about growth markets and demographics; we fans can now get the stuff we care about directly from Nintendo. I wonder if/when the other big studios will follow suit.

There’s no doubt about it now: Wii U has it’s library, and a solid one at that! If you didn’t want one before, you have to want one now!

It’s got its VC, and as long as Nintendo’s working on NEW Zelda games, I don’t mind a remake now and then to stave my appetite.

Obviously, I can’t wait to see Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, but I like Xenoblade more (I’m still sticking with Monolith X; it sounds better than Xenoblade U, and there’s no telling whether it’s related yet).

Wii U *will* have a good library… but it doesn’t have a good library *now*, and I’m not willing to buy *now*.

3DS has taught me a harsh lesson about buying in early. The retail software lineup for that system has a few highlights but is just starting to be worthwhile now, years after the system was released release. Wii U seems to be on the same path. I’d rather wait to buy until games that I care about are released (and the system has likely dropped in price).